GEAR AID - Catálogo 2018 - Tecnomar Diving by Tecnomar Diving

2019 CATALOG

EUROPE

It’s not the gear; it’s the stories within them. Like a love affair that’s long and unpredictable, our relationship with beloved gear can last a lifetime. Even a pair of old waders can recall moments of pure joy and inspire spontaneous decisions outside.

Years ago, I discovered a great fishing spot on the Nooksack River with a buddy of mine. We would frequent it during the season as it was stacked with salmon and the rare steelhead. Spring and fall weekends were dedicated to being riverside at first light. The steelhead were: Elusive. Smart. Meaty. Giants. They’d hatch, and then head out to the Pacific Ocean to grow full size; then they’d return home for us to try to catch. And try we would. It was chilly at dawn, usually in the 40s, and the right gear was essential. We wouldn’t wear gloves because they’d get in the way, so we’d try to keep our hands warm in other ways. We wore full chest waders, mine were made of a five layer GORE-TEX® – with neoprene booties, which didn’t even have a chance to dry before we put them on the next day. We went to the river every day. I learned quickly that polarized sunglasses were worth every penny. Gear got us to the fish, and experience got us on them. When we’d hook

into that wild salmon, it was worth every long, anticipatory moment in that cold river. My waders are 16 years old. They’ve moved with me up and down the West Coast, and I still have them. I fish rivers as much as I can, even in the summer when we wear just shorts and flip-flops, I keep my waders on the boat. They’re my emergency plan in case I need to get in the water, especially in the spring. That day came one spring evening. I took my wife on the drift boat and not 10 minutes in, she started to cast the fly line and accidentally launches the rod into the river. There it went, a full set-up flying through the air. “Oh no!” she said, and froze. We watched it hit the water and I immediately jumped in fully clothed. That river was not warm, it was spring snowmelt, but luckily I had the waders and a base layer pant to change into. Another reason those waders will be around until I stop reeling the fish in.

The right gear will last you a lifetime. The stories will collect, and pretty soon you’ll realize you’ve had those items forever. I’ve gone through dozens of sunglasses, gloves, and hats, but I’m still on the first pair of waders. There’s a tear “Gear got us to on the back, the fish, and which is glued experience got shut, can’t us on them. remember When we’d hook what it’s from. into that wild There’s also a salmon, it was giant burn worth every long, under the knee anticipatory because I got moment in that too close to a cold river. ” fire one day. Those repairs don’t bother me. They remind me of all the great stories over the years – a collection of memories peppered with gear failures and fixes.